


Hau`oli Lā Hānau, Danno! (Happy Birthday, Danno!)

by Jantique



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Cute Animals Warning!, Established Relationship, Fluff, Future Fic, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-17
Updated: 2011-08-17
Packaged: 2017-10-22 17:52:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/240881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jantique/pseuds/Jantique
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Grace get Danny a special present for his birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hau`oli Lā Hānau, Danno! (Happy Birthday, Danno!)

It was one week and four days until Danny’s birthday. Steve McGarrett knew that, because Grace had asked his advice on what she could get him for a birthday present.  They were swimming at the time, while Danny watched from the lanai. She figured this was her best shot at privacy, and she had something very important to discuss.

 

“So Mom said I should make him something in Arts and Crafts class, but I figured she doesn’t really know how to make him happy, or they wouldn’t be divorced, right?”

 

Steve swallowed a mouthful of water and coughed, but kept it together. Grace was a smart cookie, but no way was he going to contradict her mother.

 

“Um, Grace, you know, I think she’s right. Danno would probably love something you make for him, instead of something store-bought.”

 

But Grace was having none of it. “I was thinking,” she announced, flipping to her back and starfishing.

 

“When he was a boy, Danno used to have a pussycat, a beautiful black one. Only he had to share him with all his sisters and his brother. Don’t you think he would like his own cat now? Maybe a cute little kitten?”

 

Steve might not have a lot of experience with kids, but he wasn’t _stupid_. As a delaying tactic, he dove under Grace, clutching her around the waist and lifting her out of the water. She screamed happily. Danny smiled fondly from shore.

 

After he set her down, Steve put on the sternest expression he could muster. (It wasn’t much.) “Grace Williams, I think _you_ want a cat. This is supposed to be about what Danno wants.”

 

“ _No_!”, Grace shrieked in his ear, before casting a worried glance toward her father and lowering her voice. “No, because he wants _you_ , but he already has you, and he likes cats, and, and, the cat will be here, not at Mommy’s house, so it’s not for me, and, and, he’s allergic to dogs but not cats, because he _had_ one!”, she said triumphantly, having proven her argument.

 

Steve wasn’t sure about the logic, but was inclined to temporize. “Look, I still think you should make him something.” She started to pout ( _No! Anything but the pout_!) and he hastily added, “I’ll think about it, okay? I’m not promising anything!”

 

This was as good as a win to Grace. “Sure, Step-Steve, you think about it.” She graciously added, “And I’ll make something, _too_. You can’t have too many presents.”

 

At this point, Steve honestly believed he wasn’t getting a cat.

 

As they came splashing out of the water, Danny asked, “Hey, what were you two talking about out there?”

 

Without missing a beat, Grace replied, “About _you_ , Danno! When you were my age.”

 

“When I was your age, huh?” He lifted her onto his lap and started toweling her off. “Well, that was a long, long time ago!”

 

“I told Steve you had a cat. Right?” She looked up, not _too_ adoringly, because she didn’t want to give the game away.

 

“Oh, Dorrie! I was a little older than you are, maybe eleven or twelve. He was supposed to be my sister Emily’s cat, but she never took care of him, and I did, so Dor decided that I was his person. He used to snuggle next to me on the couch and purr as I petted him, curled up in a ball while I watched TV.” Danny smiled at the memory.

 

Grace asked softly, “Do you miss him?”

 

“Oh, honey, sure I miss him, but he had a long life for a cat, and I tried to make sure it was a happy life and he knew that he was loved, that’s the important thing. And now I have my Monkey and Steve and what else do I need?” The question was clearly rhetorical. Grace gave her father a scowl. “Don’t call me Monkey! I’m not a little kid!”

 

Danny looked shocked. “What, you’re too old to be my Monkey?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Well, pardon me, Princess Grace!”

 

She giggled, then graciously relented, “You can still call me Gracie. But not in public.” She gave him a big kiss on the forehead. “I love you, Danno! It’s gonna be a great – um, a great day!” She didn’t even bother to _look_ at Steve, which Steve found really annoying. He just knew that she was gloating inside.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

As a trained Naval officer, Steve believed in the value of good intelligence. He Googled cats, and found that there were lots of different breeds. Then he found out that all cats that came out of animal shelters were called Domestic Short-Haired. Even the long-haired ones.  Definitely not a long-haired cat, he mused, too much cat hair around the house. Cats needed a lot of stuff: a cat tree for climbing, scratching post, carrier, different kinds of toys, of course food and water bowls and – what? One cat needed _two_ litter boxes?! That couldn’t be right! But there it was in black and white: one more litter box than you have cats. Well, just the one cat, definitely.

 

On the plus side, once you acquired all that stuff, you didn’t need to get anything else on a regular basis except for food and litter. And, unlike a dog, you didn’t have to walk a cat for an hour every day – definitely a plus.

 

He had a long talk on the phone with Rachel, and got permission to take Grace out for a couple of hours next Saturday – _without_ her father’s knowledge. For some reason, Rachel thought Steve was a good influence on Danny. And she was all for Steve having pets at his house, so she didn’t have to get any more. (Besides, she didn’t really trust a cat around Mr. Hoppy, whose new nickname might become “Lunch”!)

 

Having blown off Danny with an excuse, Steve picked up Grace and they went to the Hawaiian Humane Society on Waialae Avenue. There they looked at all the available felines. There were quite a few, but Grace had decided she wanted a kitten, and only two of the kittens were black. They were in the same cage. They were small and snuggled together.

 

“Rudolph and Cupid,” Grace read the tag on their cage.

 

“Hey, they’re both reindeer,” Steve pointed out.

 

“But it’s not Christmas!”

 

A volunteer working at the shelter came over. Her name tag read, “Fran”. She said, “Yes, but they were originally brought here just before Christmas, so that’s why we named them after reindeer. They were adopted, too, but someone in the family was allergic to them, so they had to come back here.” She looked straight at Grace, knowing who the decision-maker was. “Do you think you can give them a forever home?”

 

“Yes!” She promptly gave Steve the 1,000-watt I’ll-Never-Ask-For-Anything-Ever-Again Pleading Look.

 

“Whoa! Grace, you know that we agreed, one cat. One!”

 

Fran switched her focus to Steve and said, “Actually, these kittens are littermates, brother and sister. They came from a hoarding situation and they’ve always been together. What with the upset in their lives of coming back here now, we’d really like to keep them together. Besides,” she continued, on a more upbeat note, “two cats are really no more trouble than one. One bored kitten might tear your house apart, but two can keep each other entertained for hours. More fun for them, more fun for you. In fact, we have a two-for-one special: two cats for one adoption fee! But honey,” back to Grace, “you have to let your Dad make the decision.”

 

“Oh, he’s not my Dad, he’s my Step-Steve,” Grace informed her.

 

“Grace is my partner’s daughter,” Steve hurriedly put in.

 

Fran thought about it. “Who will be the cats’ owner?” she asked.

 

“Oh, they’re a birthday present for Danno – my Dad,” Grace blithely replied.

 

She couldn’t have known that the word “present” sends up a red flag and warning bells to shelter personnel.

 

Fran looked sternly at Steve. “I’m sorry, but we can’t let animals be given as presents. Even people who have voiced interest in getting a pet might not react well to receiving an animal as a surprise. You may anticipate a delightful response, but it’s not appropriate for you to choose an animal who will be someone else's companion for the next 10 or 20 years.”

 

Grace wailed, “Steve! Tell her!”

 

Steve hastily said, “No, it’s okay, really, we live together – it’s my house, actually – and he wants it. I want it – them. Really.”

 

Grace cheered, “Yay!”

 

Steve quickly replayed his last sentence in his mind, and was shocked to hear what he’d said. Still, they were cute, and Fran was probably right, and Grace would be happy, and –

He made a mental note to buy a third litter box.

 

Fran asked, “Would you like to play with them a little?”

 

Before Grace could even start, Steve said, “Sure.” Might as well find out what his new housemates were like.

 

Grace asked, “How do we tell them apart? They look exactly alike!”

 

Fran opened the cage and scooped up the kittens, one in each hand. They were still that little.  She said, “Well, one of them has a white spot on the rear paw. See here? Let’s see now … that’s Rudolph. Rudolph is smaller now, but boys usually grow to be bigger.”

 

They all went inside a small enclosure. Grace sat on the only chair. Fran put Cupid on her lap. “See, now, hold her like this; that’s it.” She handed Rudolph to Steve. Grace held the kitten with one hand and petted her with the other. Both kittens looked around them with yellow eyes, curious but quiescent.

 

“She’s purring!”, Grace exclaimed.

 

“Most cats do, and we still don’t know how,” Fran said.

 

She left them with the kittens for a few minutes. They switched off and then let them jump to the floor. They both ran under the chair.

 

“Oh, they’re shy,” Grace said.

 

“They’ve had a rough life,” Steve replied. He felt sorry for the poor little things. He’d never really considered having one cat, much less two, but he wanted to give these guys a “forever home”. And he knew that if Grace was happy, Danny would be, too.

 

Arrangements were soon made. They could come back next week to pick the kittens up, with the kittens getting their respective neutering operations in the meantime.

 

Grace had one last question. “They really shouldn’t be named for reindeer; it’s not Christmastime. Can we give them new names?”

 

“Absolutely, honey,” Fran said. “You think about what you want their names to be. It’s an important decision, so you want to take time to think about it!”

 

Steve shuddered to think. Barbie? Miley? _Justin_? He crouched in front of the excited girl. “Grace, listen to me. We’re all going to pick the new names _together_. You can’t just decide, we all have to agree. Understand?”

 

Grace nodded vehemently. “I understand. All together. But I can make suggestions?”

 

“Of course you can make suggestions.” As Grace opened her mouth, Steve hastily added, ”But not right now! Like the nice lady said, think about it first.”

 

Grace closed her mouth and thought hard.

 

On the way home, Grace chattered on about the kittens: how cute they were, how smart, how friendly, how good it was they were getting a boy and girl, and so on. Steve let it wash over him. It was comforting, kind of like listening to Danny’s chatter, only at less explosive volume. When they got to the house, Grace ran to her mother, excitedly repeating everything she’d just said to Steve.

 

But Rachel hugged her and said, “Darling, I want to hear _all about it_ , but right now I need to speak to Steve for a minute. I’ll be right with you, okay? Steve, won’t you come in?”

 

Steve came in, a little warily.  You never knew whether it would be good news or bad.

 

“Steve, can I offer you a cup of tea? Or perhaps alcohol? Please sit down.”

 

“Nothing, thanks, I’m good.” He sat, deliberately lounging to show he was unconcerned. Really.

 

Rachel perched on a chair opposite him. “It’s just – I’m not trying to tell you what to do, or how to live your life – ( _oh, this did_ not _sound good_!) – but I just have to tell you about a cat food commercial I just saw.”

 

_Huh_?  “You’re recommending cat food?”

 

She shook her head. “No – I don’t even remember what brand it was – it was the _story_ the commercial told. You see, there was this couple….”

 

She told him the story. Steve loved the idea. He loved Rachel. He made a mental note to go to the pet store and get tags made.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

 

Danny was naturally curious as to whatever was locked inside the garage that he was under orders NOT TO LOOK AT, but he understood that there was something there for his birthday, and he really didn’t want to spoil the surprise. Knowing Steve, he figured it was either: A) a surfboard, B) a weapon, or C) anything that went fast and was dangerous. He was willing to wait to say ‘Thank you’ politely and _then_ tear Steve a new one.

 

On Tuesday, his birthday, Grace had special permission to join her father and the team for dinner, as long as she got back by a reasonable hour. Steve asked Danny if he wanted to go out, but Danny said he would just as soon stay home and let Steve grill. Chin and Kono came over, bringing Longboards (the liquid kind), and the party was soon in full swing.

 

After dinner, Steve brought out the cake, candles blazing. (In the interest of fire safety, Steve had limited himself to one for each decade, plus one to grow on.)

 

“Hey, Monk—I mean, Gracie! C’mere! Do you want to help me blow the candles out?”, her father asked.

 

Grace looked wistful, but said, “No, you have to do it all by yourself. And make a wish first!” Sometimes grownups forgot these things.

 

Danny grinned, made a wish, took a deep breath, and blew.  Everyone applauded.

 

“Okay, let’s cut the—”

 

“Danno, wait!” Grace tugged his arm. “I have something to tell you!”

 

Danny put down the knife. “What is it, honey?”

 

“Steve and I got you a present – two presents – but we can’t get them until Saturday!” She looked worried at this breach in birthday etiquette.

 

Danny hastened to reassure her. “That’s okay, Gracie. I can wait. Really. Two presents, huh?”

 

“We picked them out last Saturday, but they, they—”

 

Steve coughed. “They needed … fixing. And by the way, Danno, you need to be out of the house on Saturday while we do some work.”

 

“Okay, Gracie and I can go out somewhere.”

 

“No, Daddy. I have to help Steve.”

 

Steve said, “Grace, I think I can handle it if you want to—”

 

She looked at him pleadingly. “But I have to help you pick up the k--presents!”

 

Kono and Chin were looking at each other curiously. Chin asked, “How come we don’t know about these mysterious presents? You know, cuz?”

 

Kono shook her head. “Not a clue.”

 

“’Cause they’re a _secret_!” Grace patiently explained. “But you can come over Saturday, um, Saturday night, and mee—see them.”

 

“We’ll be there.”  “Count on it.”

 

_Curiouser and curiouser_. Danny said, “It’s okay, Gracie, I know you want everything to be just right. You can go with Steve if you want to. Just tell me when to be here.”

 

Grace had a thought. “Oh, and honk the horn when you come home. Don’t come in yet! We have to get everything ready first!”

 

Steve could only agree, “What she said.”

 

Danny wanted to know, “Okay, _now_ can we cut the cake?”

 

His daughter and everyone else called out, “Yes!”

 

He cut the cake (coconut) and passed around the pieces. Everyone started eating and making happy noises. Suddenly Grace put down her plate. “I forgot!” She darted to the front door, grabbing a large paper shopping bag sitting there. She ran back and thrust it at her father.

 

“I forgot, I _made_ you a present, too! Only we couldn’t wrap it, ‘cause it’s too big, so Mommy said we should just put it in the bag, and it would be okay.”

 

“Of course, it’s okay, honey. You know I would just tear the paper apart anyway.” He reached into the bag and pulled out the Arts and Crafts project. Studying it seriously, he said (praying he was right), “It’s a cat.”

 

“It’s _Dorrie_ , Daddy!”

 

Danny beamed. Wasn’t that just like Grace, to remember his old cat, and make him a remembrance. “You’re right. It looks _exactly_ like Dorrie.”

 

Dorrie Mark II had a black construction paper face, with white Liquid Paper eyes, a red paper tongue and white pipe cleaner whiskers. It was attached to the paper towel roll body (also covered with black construction paper) by two coiled up black pipe cleaners, giving it a bobble-head effect. The legs were plastic straws. The tail was more black pipe cleaners, twisted together. It was beautiful.

 

“This,” Danny proclaimed, holding it up for everyone to see, “this is a work of art. This was so thoughtful of you, Gracie. I’m going to put it in a special place where I can see it every day. In fact, you can just cancel the other presents. This is all I want.”

 

“But we can’t!”, Grace exclaimed in consternation. “We have to—You—I mean— _Step-Steve_!”

 

Steve was smirking. “Already bought and paid for, babe. And there will be _no_ cancelling. Besides, Grace personally picked out the other presents, too. And I agree with her choices.”

 

“Okay, sorry, I didn’t mean to be insulting, and I really can’t wait to see what you got, it’s just that this is so beautiful. Come here, baby. I need to thank you _personally_.” Danny carefully set down Dorrie, crouched down and hugged his wonderful daughter. He wrapped her in his arms and gave her a big kiss, stroking her hair tenderly. He was so proud of his little girl. “Thank you _so_ much, Gracie, for _everything_.”

 

Grace was raised to be polite. “You’re welcome!”

 

A thought occurred to Danny. “Wait a minute, if these other presents need to be picked up, what do you have locked up in the garage?”

 

Steve shrugged. “Ancillary stuff. Accessories.”

 

“These presents have a garage full of _accessories_?”

 

Steve smirked. Grace giggled. Danny just knew there was a Barbie Playhouse involved. Hopefully it hadn’t cost Steve _thousands_ of dollars.

 

Kono whispered to Chin, “So, should we break in tonight and see?”

 

Chin was the mature one. “No, better wait until tomorrow.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

 

Saturday’s plans were very nearly cancelled, but at 9:30 Friday night, Five-0 busted the bad guys (international jewel thieves), with no worse injuries all around than one of the goons taking a warning shot in the shoulder. Oh, and Kono ripped a fingernail, which the guys knew better than to make fun of!

 

Danny and Steve were in bed before midnight. Since he had orders to be out of the house tomorrow anyway, Danny had volunteered to go to the office and do the paperwork on the bust.

 

As they lay in bed, Steve said, “Danno? Listen, um …”

 

“What?”

 

“It’s … what we’re giving you tomorrow means a lot to Grace. So if you really don’t want them, tell me privately and I’ll make up some excuse about giving them back.”

 

Danny was offended. “What! Are you _seriously_ telling me how not to offend my daughter by rejecting her present?!”

 

“Stop it, you’re a good father, a great father, but this is … special. You really have to be honest if you don’t want them. I mean it.”

 

Danny huffed. “Fine, I’ll be polite but honest. Okay?”

 

Steve smiled in the darkness. “I love you, Danno. I hope you know that.”

 

“Idiot. Of course I know. C’mere, babe.”  He wrapped his hand around Steve’s head and drew him closer in a long, lingering kiss. Which inevitably led to other things, which led to Steve sleeping past sunrise Saturday morning.

 

Danny picked up Grace and brought her back to the house for breakfast, after which he went in to the office, and Steve and Grace got to work. Steve put together the pieces of the cat tree, while Grace picked out which toys to give the kittens now and which to save for later. Steve emphasized that there should more toys in the _later_ pile. He was sure the kittens would get plenty of stimulation just from exploring their new home.

 

Then he filled Grace in on The Plan, as suggested by her mother. Grace loved it. She jumped up and down and squealed, “Yes, yes, yes!” Which was great, but she wasn’t the one that Steve needed to say “Yes”.

 

Finally they went to pick up the kittens, who were ready for them. At the shelter, Steve put the collars on them, with the tags already attached. Steve called Danny and told him to come home now, sit on the lanai, _not_ to go inside, and keep his eyes closed _NO MATTER WHAT_. Danny promised he would.

 

When they got back to the house, there was Danny, sitting on the lanai, leaning back, with a tie tied over his eyes. Grace sang out, “We’re home – but don’t look!”

 

Steve set down the cat carrier. The kittens were so little they both fit in one carrier with room to spare. Steve reached and scooped out a kitten, checking the tag. “Oops, wrong one.” He fished around for the other one.

 

“ _Mrowr_!” That was Cupid, being forcibly ejected from the carrier.

 

“ _What the_ \--?!” That was Danny. Grace slapped her hands over her father’s eyes.  “Don’t look!”

 

Steve nodded to Grace, who took her hands away. “Okay, you can look now.”

 

Danny pulled the tie off his head and stared at Steve, who was holding out Cupid.

 

“It’s a cat!”

 

“For you, Daddy, just like Dorrie!”

 

Oh. A lot came clear. “Honey, it’s – words fail me. Really. Um, it’s an amazing present, really.”

 

“Hold her, she’s really soft!”

 

Danny took the kitten, who was soft and small and, well, cute. A kitten. Okay.

 

Grace explained, “This one is Cupid, but we can change their names.”

 

“ _This one_?!”

 

Steve shrugged and pulled out Rudolph again. He smiled brightly. “They’re a matched pair.”

 

“They’re sister and brother, Daddy, and they have to stay together. The lady said so! And this is gonna be their forever home!”

 

On the one hand, it was really thoughtful. On the other hand, he was a little overwhelmed. Dorrie Mark II would have been more than adequate. On the other hand, Cupid, who had settled in his lap, started purring. She was no dumb bunny! Danny unconsciously started petting her.

 

Steve, who was still holding Rudolph cradled in his arm, said hesitantly, “Danny? You – you need to read the tags.”

 

Grace took a deep breath, ready to squeal, but stopped herself. She knew instinctively that this wasn’t about her. But she whispered under her breath, “Please say yes, please say yes.”

 

Danny picked up Cupid’s head and read the tag aloud. It said, “WILL YOU”.

 

“Will you? Will I what?”

 

Steve silently held out Rudolph. Danny took him and read on his tag, “MARRY US?”

 

Oh. OH! For once Danny Williams was bereft of words. He looked at his lover. Steve McGarrett _never_ looked scared, but Danny could see behind the mask. He looked at his daughter, who was giving him her best pleading look. He looked down at the kittens in his lap. Of course he loved Steve, but marriage was a big deal. He’d been burned once. He smiled broadly. He knew what to say.

 

“Yes. Yes, I’ll marry all of you!”

 

Steve solemnly took the kittens from Danny’s lap and put them back in the carrier. Danny stood up and took Steve’s hand. They came together and kissed, slowly, almost reverently, sealing their vow. Then Grace demanded, “Me, too!” So the men picked her up together and there was a group hug all around, which was _much_ more satisfying.

 

“I,” Danny proclaimed, “am the luckiest man in the world.”

 

Steve said softly, “I think it’s a tie.”

 

Grace said, “It’s gonna be a beautiful wedding and I’m gonna be the flower girl. We’ll have lots and lots of flowers!”

 

_Flowers_?!

 

Steve quickly said, “Listen, I think we should take the kittens inside.”

 

Grace was immediately distracted, slipping down from the men’s arms. “Yes! Come on, Danno, we have to show you all the toys, and the cat tree Step-Steve made, and, and, we have food and treats….” She babbled on happily as they went indoors, Steve holding the carrier in one hand, and Danny’s hand in the other.

 

Danny figured that this was his very best birthday ever. And because he was a wise man, he knew that the present wasn’t really Dorrie Mark II or Cupid and Rudolph or even the proposal. It was the Love. This, he thought, this was _his_ forever home.

 

 

THE END

 

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is a Merry Sue story. Also Rodney Stu. The roles of The Kittens in this story are played by my two DSH kittens, whose shelter names were Cupid and Rudolph and yes, I got them just before Christmas. As soon as we got home, they became Merry (Meredith) and Rodney McKay Schrödinger Ketzele Fielding Cat. And (I hope) we will all live happily ever after in our furever home.


End file.
